TechNotes: Fixing SuSE 7.3

When Little Problems Get Big

November 2, 2001

By
Dennis E. Powell

Those who read this week's .comment column on LinuxPlanet.com learned of the
difficulty that I and some others have encountered in installing, configuring, and using
SuSE Linux 7.3. These problems are not universal, but for a substantial number of users
they render a nonfunctioning or barely functioning system.

As it turns out, at least two significant problems can be relatively easily solved,
even by users who have little Linux experience. A third problem is not a critical issue
but still one for which a solution remains elusive.

The problems are these:

Difficulty of installation and limited usability on machines using the Matrox G-400
video card and perhaps other cards in the MGA series.

Unattractive rendering of anti-aliased fonts for video cards that can use them, for
users who choose the KDE desktop.

An inability to apply the Ext3 journaling filesystem to existing partitions.

The first problem was solved through a suggestion made on the SuSE English-language
mailing list. The second has been solved by a SuSE employee who encountered it while
preparing the Japanese language version of the distribution. The third problem, well,
remains a problem. But because this is Linux, that will probably be sorted out within a
day or two.